NEW DELHI: As many as 330 drug samples have been found to be Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), officials said Friday.
Also, authorities found one spurious drug sample during its routine regulatory surveillance for September 2026.
In its monthly report, the Central Drugs Laboratories identified 42 drug samples as NSQ, while State Drugs Testing Laboratories identified 288 such samples.
However, the CDSCO made it clear that the failure is specific to the drug products belonging to the batch tested by the government laboratory and does not warrant concerns about other drug products available in the market.
Further, one drug sample from the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) was identified as spurious.
The drug was manufactured by unauthorised manufacturers using a brand name owned by another company, the CDSCO said.
The matter is under investigation, and action will be taken as per the applicable Act and Rules.
An NSQ designation is given by drug regulatory authorities to a specific batch or lot of a medicine that fails to meet the quality standards or specifications laid down by the Indian Pharmacopoeia or the manufacturer's own guidelines.
The CDSCO and the state drug regulators declare drugs as NSQ based on laboratory testing done under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
The CDSCO said that the identification of NSQ and spurious medicines is carried out regularly in collaboration with state regulators to ensure that such drugs are identified and removed from the market.
In September, the CDSCO had identified 220 drug samples as NSQ during routine regulatory surveillance in August 2026, including 29 samples identified by Central Drugs Laboratories and 191 by State Drugs Testing Laboratories.
According to the monthly NSQ and Spurious Drug Alert issued by CDSCO, one drug sample from the NCT of Delhi was also identified as a spurious drug.
The spurious drug was allegedly manufactured by unauthorised manufacturers using a brand name owned by another company.
The matter is currently under investigation, and action will be taken as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules, according to the regulatory authority. CDSCO said the list of NSQ and spurious drugs is displayed on its portal every month as part of routine regulatory surveillance activity.
